Cornell & Diehl Virginia Gentleman

Hey, I keep sampling this C&D tobacco and I am going to get hooked. This one is just terrific. I only got enough for a couple of bowls, but I am going to fix that right away. Try this one as it is complex and just plain great. The touch of Oriental is just genius. After 2 pounds of this stuff I have to move it up to the highest as an all day and early evening puffer.

This is flavorful and I love the "Dunhill like" ribbon cut. Very similar to C&D's "Oak Alley" in behavior and flavor , although OA starts as a darker plug and it has a touch of Perique. I feel like Virginia Gentleman might have a touch also? My only problems with this blend is it burns hot for me and just isn't that smooth. The Turkish Orientals (& Perique ?) are used with a heavier hand than the description indicates and somewhat overpowers the Virginia sweetness and brings in some spicy heat.

POST SCRIPT: As I went to post my review , I read some of the other reviews, fellow "Pipers", we are all over the place with this blend ? Some felt we had too much Turkish, others were adding Turkish. Some felt it was a VaBur, others VaO. Some found this smooth others acrid & cigarettish? People even seemed to have different experiences from tin to tin and with different aging. My conclusion, we might be having a blending consistency problem at C&D with this one.

Virginia Gentleman delivers on its promise. It is an all day, bite-free Virginia based blend. The bright Virginia offers a distinct lemon citrus. The nutty cashew-like burley wrestles for the lead at times and is dominant at the end of the bowl. The Turkish leaf is subtle but contributes sour, spicy, and woody flavors. Overall the blend is much more savory than sweet.

This is a rather nice presentation from CD. The flavour profile is pure tobacco, so no additives have been added to the formula. The citrusy and sweet notes from the viriginia leaf are quite dominant, whereas the oriental profile becomes more and more apparent as you progress with your smoke. Despite this, it never gets to the point where you might think you are smoking an oriental blend. Rather, it kind of adds some spiciness and sophistication to the smoking experience. The burley leaf is added to accentuate the other components of the blend, but sometimes it shows up in the front with chocolatey or nutty undertones. All and all, smoking this blend you'd think you're smoking a straight and rich virginia tobacco, nothing more, nothing less. I am quite pleased with it, so I might buy again.

There's nothing wrong with this blend, it's simply not the flavor profile I enjoy. With the components of virginia, burley, and orientals I was hoping for slightly sweet, nutty, and spicy. However, to me this is light, with high notes (which other reviewers refer to as citrusy or perfumey) and a harshness or astringency almost cigarette-like. I suppose it would be considered a good warm weather blend. I guess if I were to put this in beer terms, I prefer a good creamy, nutty brown ale, Porter, or stout, or even a nice pilsner on a hot day. This is wheat beer with a slice of lemon. Not bad if you like that sort of thing.

Virginia Gentleman is a Burley/Virginia ribbon cut tobacco. This is a good smoke, but compared to others I have had, it is not one that will be part of my regular rotation. It smokes well and I didn't get any tongue bite, but for me it was just okay compared to other weed I have smoked. It is a quality smoke, but just not good enough to make my rotation. It is worth trying once, you may find that you love it.

Smooth citrucy, honey-sweet, and hay-like Virginias are the main component. They are combined with Orientals and probably white Burley. Can sense the perfumed Orientals which are discreet but still there and Burley adds yet another dimension, earthy and mildly bitter.

Overall Virginia Gentleman is a mellow natural-tasting smoke with no bite – mild to medium strength with a limited variety of flavours but a beautiful and bold taste. Quite good on its own, good for blending as well. As a former cigarette smoker I like these all-natural and unprocessed tobaccos a lot. To me this is indeed very cigarette-like, however none of the many cigarette brands I have smoked over the years is nearly as good... Four stars if you like this kind of tobacco.

This is a very oriental forward blend for me. While the VA's start out front with a grassy/hay note and a slight citrus note and perhaps this is where the sweet spicy note comes from, they quickly take a secondary role to the orientals which are earthy/dusty with a slight musty note and slightly floral and very herbal. The burley seems to be used more to calm the bright VA's and I think it makes them a little more rounded then they would be but the burley itself goes almost unnoticed for me. It does not get harsh or cigarette like at all. It comes on the dry side and can be smoked right out of the jar when ready. Nic is closer to the mild to medium range. For those looking for an all day blend this might fit the bill and I would recommend it for those looking for that, however, for me its too heavy on the orientals for that and lacks the complexity I look for in blends to contemplate. That said, it is still a better than average blend 2.5 stars for me as I see no reason at this time to repeat.

Oooh wow this is a great all day Virginia Burley blend! I imagine this is what my grandpa would have loved 50 years ago as he smoked PA with some added Bugler RYO tobacco. VG is not too strong and not too light, really the "Baby Bear" like in the Goldylocks kids story in the C&D Burley tobacco line. The Burley really cools down the Virginia and adds some toast like taste with the Turkish providing some much needed spice, I tried a bowl with a pinch of 5100 added and I think it made a stellar alternative for my morning smoke. (I really wish C&D would team up with McClelland for a couple of Burley blends since McClelland rarely uses Burley and I find have superior Virginias to C&D, maybe one day....) Virginia Gentleman smokes cool and never got bitter on me. Again a delightful all day simple blend in the OTC codger style but with top shelf leaf. I will need to cellar a pound and see where it takes me a year from now. Highly recommended!